Back to the complete issue
Thursday, 10 December 2020

Sinopharm’s jab is 86% efficient, and we _could_ have it as early as next month

The Health Ministry reported 421 new covid-19 infections yesterday, down from 434 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 119,702 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 19 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 6,832.

Egypt could have a covid-19 vaccine next month, National Research Center Director Mohamed Hashem told Al Masry Al Youm. That vaccine is likely to be China’s Sinopharm, which conducted clinical trials in Egypt.

Trials of the Sinopharm vaccine in the UAE have shown a 86% efficacy rate in preventing moderate and severe cases of covid-19 and with no serious safety concerns, according to Bloomberg. The success of the trials has boosted the UAE’s confidence with officials saying the country would resume all economic, touristic, and cultural activities in the next two weeks and that a rollout may be imminent.

Regardless, Egypt is still waiting to ensure covid-19 vaccines’ efficacy before distributing them, including the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot, according to a Health Ministry statement. Minister Hala Zayed and British Ambassador to Egypt Geoffrey Adams discussed yesterday the logistics of bringing the vaccine to Egypt.

Good news for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine: The folks at the Lancet Journal have given the vaccine their seal of approval, affirming that the shot is safe and effective in its peer review of phase three data, the Wall Street Journal reports. AstraZeneca and Oxford last month announced their two-shot vaccine was between 62-90% effective, with a higher efficacy observed when patients were given a half-dose followed by a full dose, rather than two full doses.

‘Meh’ news for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine: They’re still not sure how effective the vaccine is in people aged over 55, nor why its efficacy seems to increase with a smaller initial dose. Still, this is the first jab to be subjected to a full peer review and the warm reception by the Lancet should be interpreted as a positive sign for Egypt, which will rely on it for 30% of its vaccine needs, and indeed much of the developing world. The one cautionary note: The UK, which began rolling out the vaccine on Tuesday, is warning that people with “significant” allergies should not be given the jab after two NHS workers became seriously ill after inoculation, Reuters reports.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.